Toronto city labour committee reserves lockout decision

An effort put forward by a Toronto councilor to take away the ability of the city’s labour relations committee to lock out city workers has been “deferred indefinitely”.

Councilor John Filion proposed the idea because he is concerned that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is planning to lock out city workers when their collective agreement expires in 2012. The president of Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 416, Mark Ferguson, says that “a very highly placed individual” confirmed that plan to him.